BIC heading towards top 10
With new products in every segment, it’s a revamp for BIC:Dipen Haria
Bindu Incense Craft LLP (BIC), is moving ahead towards making its place amongst the top ten agarbattibrandsby expanding its brand portfolio across economic and premium segment with new products and fragrances in; agarbatti, Wet dhoop, DryDhoop stick, and Sambrani cup. BIC and Balaji agarbatti company is headed by Jayesh Shah, Rohit Savla,Dipen Haria, Rahul Savla, Pradeep Savla, Ashish Shah, Dixit Shah andNainesh Shah. One of the partners, Mr.DipenHaria in a special conversation with Sugandh Indiastated that the company carries on the traditions of its founders.Premchand Shah established Bharat Industrial Corporation in 1965 and his legacy was carried forward by Hasmukh Shahand Bharat Shah. BIC’s Panchavati is a world known brand in exports along with Shivam brand. The company has alsobagged numerous export awards.
Sharing about initial days, Dipen said that they joined handswithBIC in 2020. Remarking on the mergerDipen said, “I found out, the company did not launch anything new for the last eight years since the demiseof HasmukhShah. Due tothis huge time gap we had to start afresh.” He added, “The work culture of the company required change as well. There were only two products in the market, “Shivam and Panchavati”. As a result, BIC launched a new line of products like Black Musk, Fascination, etc and they are being accepted in the market.” He further remarked, “Industry insiders are saying that BIC is recovering fast. The company is swiftly becoming a market force.”
Informing about BIC’s major market, Dipen said, “BIC is a pan Indiabrand with major markets in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar,UP, Delhi, West Bengal and southern states.” Informing further about the top brands, he said,“Shivam and Panchavati are their top brands and another one is Dil.” He added, “Dilhas been popular since decades, especially elderly people relate to it.”
Talking about his vision regarding the company, Dipen remarked with confidence, “We want to be one of the top brands in the country, we are already one of the top brands in exports!”
On Sugandh India’s question regarding BIC’s product portfolio, Dipen informed, “We have incense sticks in different segments starting Rs 15/- regular boxes upto Ultra premium range with Mrp Rs.340/- for 25sticks. In agarbatti we have Rs.15/- MRP Regular boxes &pouches ,Rs. 25/- MRP boxes,Rs.30/- MRP pouches, Economy to Family pack MRP Rs.15/- to Rs. 150/-, Zippers Mrp. 70/- & Jumbo Zippers MRP- 160/-. Premium, Ultra Premium&Festival products with MRP. Ranging from Rs.90/- to Rs. 400/-. We have a wide variety in Wet as well as Dry Dhoop sticks both in boxes as well as zippers with MRP ranging from Rs 15/- to Rs 100/- along with the Global favorite PANCHAVATI Double/Single size. Recently we have come up with a monthly pack of Charcoal free Cup sambrani , a segment which we plan to expand along with Computer sambrani in the very near future.
On the challenges faced by the industry as a manufacturer, Dipen said, “the government should initiate refund on GST immediately after filing – the raw materials are purchased at 18% GST and the finished products are sold at 5% GST. The 13% refund that companies are bound to get is a big amountwhich gets stuck in the process for longer periods. Impending issues like raw material prices and borrowings are yet to see the light. Raw material prices fluctuate all the time. Shortage of labour is a serious matter. Talking about his workforce,”You see, people will join where they are paid well and on time. We need an improved workforce who stick to their jobs. For this, we have started adding awareness programmes.”
On marketing strategies, Dipen informed, “We ran a pilot project in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra last year. We have deployed a sales team and they have made sure that our product is available everywhere. Earlier a team would only visit selected counters, but now a single salesman makes sure he visits remote retail counters also. This has been a success and our company benefitted from itsrun.”On the issue of credit, he said. Payments do come on time when your brand is in demand.
On a question regarding premium products, he said,“The market of premium is growing, gone are the days when people would perceive an agarbatti costing Rs.100 as expensive. Customers now even buy agarbatti for Rs.200/- to300/- and more if provided with quality that justifies the price.” Adding furtherDipen informed, “BIC has introduced ten products in the premium segment this year that include BrahmaMuhurat, Vijay Tilak, 1965, Royal Musk, Devasthanam, etc. We have products in50g at different price segments. We also have a product named Gajra, Red Velvetwith 10 sticks for Rs. 170/- and 25 sticks for Rs 340/-”
Dipen further added, “the premium market is still only 10 to 20%, which increases during the season. 80% – 90% of the market is made up of regular products.” He remarked, “the price war is everywhere, but quality is most important to survive in the market for a long time. People try to give cheap quality in low rates, but they cannot last long. There are also people who buy 10 sticks for Rs 10 and 15 and half a kilo of incense sticks for Rs 100. So, we also have to have such products, but the main thrust of the company is on premium products.” He further added, “we also tell the distributors that if you sell cheap local products, it will not last long. Hence, you should keep branded and good quality products. We further explain the same thing to the retailer and the consumer. In this way awareness is increasing.”
“Logistics is a costly affair for us,” said Dipen. “It is comparatively cheaper if products are sent in bulk to distant locations through trucks and so we also send goods to far away location through truck load only if it is a bulk order.” The company has plans to open depots at various locations.
Speaking on the state of quality products he remarked, “Mushrooming local manufacturers have flooded the market with dubious quality. A big corporation like ours has to keep a check on pricing and the quality offered for a given price which make our products stand out in such complex market. We cannot dilute quality as we are well-known for Quality products.” He said that the government should involve its resources to check quality, just like they do for exports.
Talking about shortages and ever-rising prices of raw materials, he said, “It is cheaper to import raw materials than buy them locally. Agarbatti cannot be made without joss powder and bamboo. We are still dependent on foreign countries for procurement. Governments should empower bamboo cultivation.”
Talking about bamboo-less products, he said “, Yes, there’s a lot of confusion and contradictions on the use of bamboo in agarbatti. Discussions at various levels are going on, having said that we have our segment well placed covering both.
In the end, Dipen informing aboutthe export markets,said, “BIC exports its premium products to around fifty countries. We face a price war overseas as well. We have to compete with other exporters and foreign local manufacturer as well. Moreover, the shortage of dollar in some countries makes our exports challenging.”
